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Kai Chisaki had their schedule for today outlined in an Excel document, printed out step by step, color-coded, and set on the polished coffee table.
“Today is going to be perfect,” he declared, watering his well-growing calatheas plant. “No interruptions this time. Eri's going to love it.”
Kai moved his gaze to the see-through sliding door, admiring their beautiful backyard.
He loved nature.
Thought it was the only good thing God made aside from his precious daughter.
That damn bird.
The man's left eye twitched in indignation when he noticed the elegant blue and green-feathered creature poking its head around his freshly trimmed garden. It was Francois, their neighbor's peacock, who was more Eri's pet than anyone else's at this point.
“Kee-yah!” came the ear-splitting screech that their bulletproof doors thankfully managed to block some noise off. “Erk!”
How that mischievous, poop-infested critter escaped its cage, Kai had no idea, but he did not like it one bit. He brought it up with the Aoyama family multiple times, but they just apologized profusely and showed up with fancy, imported cheeses as a peace offering.
The Yakuza doesn't even like cheese, but his daughter (and right-hand man, Kurono) does, so he accepts it reluctantly.
His angel was the only reason why Kai permitted that loudmouth the freedom to occasionally spread its legs on his territory.
“If Eri didn't like that bird,” Overhaul's hand tightened around the watering can. “I would have disintegrated it long ago.”
“Papa.”
A tiny grin found its way to his lips as little feet padded on hardwood floors.
“Were you talking to the plants again?”
She forgot to put on slippers again. He bit the flesh on the inside of his bottom lip. It's fine. The floors are spotless, I made sure of it.
Kai took a breath to steady himself and emptied his mind from thinking about the invisible bacteria that could possibly be frolicking on the ground.
Their lovely maid, Fuyumi Todoroki, has a precise list of how he likes his house disinfected down to the finest detail.
Eri's small feet were still covered with the bird-patterned grippy socks Kai bought her recently.
He did like birds.
He just happened to hate Francois.
“G'Morning, Papa,” Eri's tiny fist came up to rub her eyes as she yawned. “I miss'd you.”
Overhaul felt the iceberg around his heart melt at his daughter's cuteness.
Hold it together, Chisaki.
“Good morning, sweetbun,” he said, not quite smiling but still soft. “What would you like for breakfast?”
“Pancakes, please,” Eri replied, pulling the man in for a hug.
The five-year-old rubbed her face on her adoptive father's stomach.
The fabric of the Yakuza's shirt was soft and smelled like lavender laundry detergent.
Kai patted Eri's head affectionately. “I can make that happen.”
The thirty-two-year-old hefted the girl up to his hip, which caused a startled squeak to escape her lips.
He already had the ingredients for pancakes laid out in advance, knowing his kid well enough to guess what her morning cravings were.
It was Eri's usual request, after all—that and omurice with a ketchup smiley face on top.
“Did you wash your face and brush your teeth for approximately two minutes?” Kai asked as they headed to the kitchen.
“Yes, boss,” she saluted with a cheeky grin that made his own lips twitch. “I left Steve in my room.”
Steve was Eri's beloved stuffed dinosaur, named after a character from an animated movie called Frozen whose name was actually Sven. But the girl argued against him with a firm: “Nuh uh, Daddy, is Steve!”
She and Kai had watched it at the cinema two years ago—when he rented out an entire auditorium for them to watch it on the big screen.
“Good girl,” he praised, sitting her on a chair near the kitchen counter. “I'm sure he's safe where he is. But you can go get him if you think he'll get lonely, though, sugarplum,” Kai added, knowing how fond Eri was of that soft-green-horned triceratops.
“Kay, Papa!” was all he heard as the six-year-old jumped off her seat and dashed down the hallway. "I'm super sonic!"
“No running in the house!” Kai chided, grabbing the lilac cat-themed apron his daughter chose for him at the store with a, “you'll look so cute with this one, Daddy!”—and tied it snugly around his waist.
Overhaul had practical aprons, neatly folded, ironed, and stashed away in one of the kitchen drawers. He had a variety of different styles for different occasions, but he chose to wear this childish one because he knew it was one of Eri's favorites.
“And put some shoes on!” Kai called, smoothing the fabric under his gloved hand. “The floors are slippery!”
The brunette turned the stove on and hummed the tune of the classical song that was playing on the record under his breath as he began to cook.
I'll make the best pancakes she ever had.
“Yummy!” Eri beamed, the corners of her mouth covered in honey-colored syrup and some whipped cream. “Th's ish so good, Papa!”
He allowed an extra drizzle of syrup this time with the usual dose of freshly cut strawberries on the side.
The preschooler was getting better at negotiating.
Pops's influence, he assumes.
Kai cringed a little at her sticky hands and face.
“I'm glad you like it, biscuit,” he said, dabbing her well-nourished cheeks clean with a wet wipe he knew would work better than a napkin for damage control. “Don't talk with your mouth full. Swallow first.”
“Kay, Daddy!” Eri replied, chewing obliviously.
The man merely shook his head in amusement, returning to his own meal—a single fluffy pancake which he didn't have much of an appetite for.
“What hairstyle did you have in mind for today, babycakes?” Kai asked, immediately appalled at the pet name that just slipped past his lips. They've been getting stranger by the day and he wished he had someone to blame for that. “I've been practicing on your uncle Kurono's hair. The results are quite fetching.”
Overhaul's been watching hair tutorials on YouTube to improve his skills by enlisting his close friend's head as a test dummy on how to braid and style hair.
“Hmm,” Eri chirped, tapping her chin as she curiously looked at the ceiling. “Daddy can pick! You're the smartest!”
It was like an arrow straight to the heart.
That big, happy smile.
Those innocent red irises.
Kai would blame it on heartburn if he weren't in excellent condition.
His daughter's charm was a lethal weapon he was no match for.
“Thank you, angel,” he cleared his throat and downed a glass of water. “I'll do my best.”
The preschooler swiftly hopped off her seat and skidded over to him.
“Thanks for the meal, Papa!”
Kai wasn't prepared for what came next.
“Love you!”
He received a wet, slobbery kiss on the cheek, which made the world both stop and spin incredibly fast at the same time.
“Love… you too.”
He gave his daughter the privilege of having her saliva linger the exact duration of 9,192,631,770 oscillations, one second, to be precise.
Longer than Kai would prefer, but Eri still whined when he wiped it.
“You wiped my kiss!” she gasped, as if it was some new occurrence. “No more kisses for you, meanie!”
Ideal.
“Daddy is very sorry, sweetpea. How unfortunate for me—to be deprived of such affection,” Kai said dryly, while gathering their plates. “Now go wash your hands and face.”
He already wiped her down, but she still needed to wash it with soap and water for maximum cleanliness.
“I already picked out your outfit for today, dumpling,” he added before she could bolt. “We're matching.”
A white frilly-sleeved shirt with a black dungaree dress and pumps hung on her closet door, same color scheme as his—not actual matching outfits.
“Yay, so cool!” Eri cheered, bouncing up and down excitedly still in her pink nightgown. “Twins with Papa! Go bes friends, we twinin' it!”
Kai had no idea what the light-blue-haired girl meant or where she heard that phrase from, but he laughed.
A real one.
Followed by a grimace.
I need to monitor what she's watching on her tablet to ensure a healthy growing mind—those YouTube shorts are nothing but trash.
He will not be sucked into AI generated ASMR sensory (or tragic cat story) videos ever (again.)
THE END.
Later that day:
Introducing:
Overhaul vs Francois the menace:
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